There isn't a simple answer to this. It depends on the nature of the conviction and the sentence imposed. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 provides time periods for certain convictions/sentences after which they become 'spent'. In practice this means that spent convctions don't need to be declared on most job applications and that courts would not use them against someone in subsequent criminal proceedings. However, there are always exceptions to these things. It is also a myth that spent convictions are eventually wiped off or somehow go away. The reality is that they stay on police records forever (for intell purposes) as do all arrests, cautions etc. Contact
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